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Ben Bernanke Leads Fed Into PR Push

Did we excerpt an article on the ascendancy of good old public relations recently? Seems so but if not, somebody ought to get cracking and write one. Between everybody having an opinion on everything and the ability of anyone to tweet, YouTube or blog it instantly, the spawn of Ivy Lee seem to have a bright digital future.

Ben Bernacke doesn't have to rely on such home-grown tactics for his own PR blitz, of course. When he decided to take the wraps off the Federal Reserve, "60 Minutes" was waiting. He has also fielded questions at the National Press Club recently, Jon Hilsenrath reports, and on Tuesday chatted with Morehouse College undergraduates about the financial crises with cameras rolling. Now the Fed is talking about holding press conferences.

"Bernanke's turn as the nation's Professor-in-Chief is a stark contrast to the public roles of his predecessors," Hilsenrath writes. Alan Greenspan and Paul Volcker "liked to keep financial markets and lawmakers guessing" and, "disclosing little, they were scrutinized much."

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